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gave him a blank look.
    “Where’s your phone? I’ll show you.”
    She blushed crimson. “Lost mine.”
    She doesn’t have a phone . The reality sunk in like a stone attached to his foot, sinking him. “Doesn’t matter.”
    He wanted to change the subject fast, to put her at ease. “So, what have you been up to since I saw you last?”
    Her face brightened. “I got a job.” Her chest puffed with pride.
    “You did? Doing what?” God, please don’t let it be a one-on-one job hooking for another guy .
    “Waiting tables. At the pancake house. It’s not glamorous, but it pays the bills.” She crossed her fingers. “I hope.”
    “Good. Good for you. So you’re not doing the other thing…?”
    Marley made a face. “Nope. Moving onward and upward,” she said, her voice determined. She slurped down the last of her drink.
    A crackling sizzle interrupted their conversation, and the waitress set down a platter of beef fajitas with all the accoutrements.
    Their server out of earshot, James whispered conspiratorially, “You never worked for Miss Jay, did you?”
    Her eyes widened. “What? How did you know?”
    “Doll, you’re nothing like Miss Jay’s girls,” he chuckled.
    She tossed her napkin on the table in a huff, lower lip protruding. “Why? What do you mean ?”
    He shrugged. In a low voice he said, “Just… you’re not like them. Her girls were all very professional, mechanical almost. Snotty too. You… you were different.”
    He paused. “You seemed to actually enjoy what we were doing.”
    “Well, that’s not how it usually was!” she snapped.
    “Oh.” He didn’t know what to say to that, and he had obviously pissed her off. Squirming in his chair, he tried to focus on building his fajita in the tortilla. Out of the corner of his eye he could see that she was sitting, stock still, with her arms crossed and a snarl on her face. Just eat.
    He ate three huge steak fajitas before assessing her mood again. Her face had softened some, but she still looked angry. “Marley, please eat your lunch. We have to get back to painting soon. Remember?”
    With an exaggerated sigh, she started to build her own fajita.
    That was more like it. He knew this girl could eat. He liked that about her. He had spent the past week fantasizing about her voracious appetite, in the bedroom as well as at the dinner table.
    “Marley, I know I’ve made you mad, but that wasn’t my intention. I like you, and there are some things that are awkward to discuss with someone when you first get to know them.”
    She bowed her head. “I’m sorry.” Her face glowed with pure submission.
    How did she do that? This firecracker of a girl went from feisty to demure in less than sixty seconds. He wanted to kiss her in the worst way.
    He took her hand and squeezed. “It’s okay. You know, you please me very much.”
    “I do?” She scrunched her eyebrows. “I thought I was just a pain in the ass.”
    “Oh, you probably are a pain in the ass, but I enjoy your company.”
    The smile on her face made his gut tighten. Marley aroused feelings in him that he couldn’t name. He wanted to hold her in his arms and protect her. That beautiful, independent creature that life had dumped on. She acted as though she had life by the tail, but James knew better. He wanted to make things better for her, but as independent as she was, she was bound to resist.
    He scratched his head. How in the world am I going to persuade her?

Chapter Five
     
     
    What was Daddy Morebucks doing showing up on her doorstep? Did he want to hire her again or was he looking for a freebie? That’s so not happening.
    She was shocked when he offered to help her paint. What was up with that? People don’t do things for you without expecting something in return. Then he bought her lunch on top of that.
    The way he treated her at lunch was almost the way she’d expect him to treat a date. As the meal went on, she forgot to be so guarded and found herself having a